7 Ways to Maintain Good Posture as you reach Old Age

As we grow old, our age can also play a role in ruining our posture. A lot of factors that come with old age such as lack of bone density or exercise can ruin our posture and make us look older than we really are.

Here are some pointers to help you maintain a good posture as you age:

• Stretch

As silly as it sounds, stretching our muscles is very important for our body. In between sitting anywhere for long hours do take the time out to stand, walk a few minutes, stretch and then get back to what you were doing. To be able to have a good posture and be more agile or flexible you definitely need to stretch more often.

• Sit straight

Make it an everyday practice to sit with your back straight and your shoulders held back straight. You also need to look into the chair that you are sitting on. Make sure the chair does not strain your back in any way or encourage sitting with the wrong posture.

• Strengthen your core muscles

A good posture comes from having strong core muscles, which is basically your abdomen, spine and pelvic area. Try Pilates or yoga to get your core strengthened.

• Practice yoga

Yoga not only gives you mental peace but also gives your body the right posture and strengthens your core. It also leaves you feeling relaxed and makes you flexible. For some, yoga might sound like a boring prospect, especially since you have to maintain silence while doing it. But trust me once you get on a roll there is nothing stopping you and the way your body responds to this workout.

• Weight training

A major cause of bad posture in old age is osteoporosis, which leads to the thinning of the bone density. To prevent this from happening you need to start doing weight bearing exercises or workouts like walking, weight lifting or even climbing the stairs. The key to good posture and health is mainly to lead an active life with lots of healthy food and exercise.

• Get your dose of vitamin D

The sun is responsible for giving us healthy bones and maintaining its density.  So don’t forget to get exposed to the sum for a couple of minutes every day along with in including vitamin D enriched food in your diet.

• Support your spine

Women suffer more from weakening around the spine as compared to men, mainly due to menopause. We need to support the spine so that it sits straight and to do that we need to strengthen the muscles in that area. Get the help of a professional gym instructor to learn exercises that target your spine, back, pelvic muscles and neck. These muscles have to be strong to hold us straight and upright.

So take care of your bones and your posture before it gets too late at old age. Start these healthy practices early.

Written by: Rasha Ashraf